Good Goes In… Soups by Panera Bread

by Jessica on November 29, 2012

I’d be lying to you if I said I’d never eaten at a Panera Bread. It’s one of my absolute favorite places to dine… morning, noon or night. You can almost always find Momma G, my sister and myself sitting in a booth with big glasses of iced tea, enjoying lunch.

So when I was offered the chance to review Panera’s new line of soups, I immediately said yes. While in college, I used to live off of their Broccoli Cheddar (in a sourdough bread bowl, of course), but recently I’ve been craving the Cream of Chicken & Wild Rice. Unfortunately, my favorite was not a Monday offering, so I went with the ‘You Pick 2′ combo, opting for the Big Kid Grilled Cheese (with Gruyere, Vermont White Cheddar, organic sliced American cheese and Applewood-Smoked Bacon, grilled on All-Natural White Miche) and a bowl of Vegetarian Creamy Tomato… a soup filled with pureed, vine-ripened pear tomatoes and fresh cream. The velvety smooth flavor is accentuated with hints of red pepper & oregano, then topped with their Asiago croutons. Definitely a warm & filling dinner! It was the perfect amount and I was pleasantly full for the rest of the evening… I didn’t even need a dessert!

Have you had a chance to visit Panera’s new ‘Soup’ site? Click on the ‘Soup Stories’ tab, where you can learn about secret ingredients, classic cooking techniques and the inspiration & care behind all Panera soups. Then hop over to the ‘Soup Scrambler’, where you can test your powers of concentration and see how many soups you can make in 15 seconds. You’ll get bonus seconds for every soup you remember! Then check the ‘Daily Soups’ tab to plan your menu for the day you visit! Last, but certainly not least, learn about Panera’s commitment to Feeding America, where they’ve teamed up with several of their key soup providers to offer Panera soup to those in need across America!

Disclaimer: As part of the DailyBuzz Food Tastemaker Program, I received a gift card to Panera Bread to sample their soups. All photography and opinions are my own.

Aw, man, that creamy tomato soup of theirs is to die for. I would gladly have that for lunch every day of the week. I haven’t tried that grilled cheese sandwich with it yet, but that sounds pretty awesome too!